Epilepsy describes a condition in which a person has recurrent seizures due to a chronic, underlying process. Epilepsy refers to a clinical phenomenon rather than a single disease entity, since there are many forms and causes of epilepsy. Using a definition of epilepsy as two or more unprovoked seizures, the incidence of epilepsy is estimated at approximately 0.3 to 0.5 percent in different populations throughout the world, with the prevalence of epilepsy estimated at 5 to 10 people per 1000.
An essential step in the evaluation and management of a patient with a seizure is to determine the type of seizure that has occurred. The main characteristic that distinguishes the different categories of seizures is whether the seizure activity is partial (synonymous with focal) or generalized.
Partial seizures are those in which the seizure activity is restricted to discrete areas of the cerebral cortex. If consciousness is fully preserved during the seizure, the clinical manifestations are considered relatively simple and the seizure is termed a simple-partial seizure. If consciousness is impaired, the seizure is termed a complex-partial seizure. An important additional subgroup comprises those seizures that begin as partial seizures and then spread diffusely throughout the cortex, which are known as partial seizures with secondary generalization.
Generalized seizures involve diffuse regions of the brain simultaneously in a bilaterally symmetric fashion. Absence or petit mal seizures are characterized by sudden, brief lapses of consciousness without loss of postural control. Atypical absence seizures typically include a longer duration in the lapse of consciousness, less abrupt onset and cessation, and more obvious motor signs that may include focal or lateralizing features. Generalized Tonic-clonic or grand mal seizures, the main type of generalized seizures, are characterized by abrupt onset, without warning. The initial phase of the seizure is usually tonic contraction of muscles, impaired respiration, a marked enhancement of sympathetic tone leading to increased heart rate, blood pressure, and pupillary size. After 10-20 s, the tonic phase of the seizure typically evolves into the clonic phase, produced by the superimposition of periods of muscle relaxation on the tonic muscle contraction. The periods of relaxation progressively increase until the end of the ictal phase, which usually lasts no more than 1 min. The postictal phase is characterized by unresponsiveness, muscular flaccidity, and excessive salivation that can cause stridorous breathing and partial airway obstruction. Atonic seizures are characterized by sudden loss of postural muscle tone lasting 1-2 s. Consciousness is briefly impaired, but there is usually no postictal confusion. Myoclonic seizures are characterized by a sudden and brief muscle contraction that may involve one part of the body or the entire body.
There remains a need to provide an effective treatment for epilepsy and related disorders.